Still Here
by Blacknovelist
Summary: She can't stay and keep an eye on him forever, but there's just one more thing she has to do before she leaves.


**A/N: Written for Izuqu, for the tumblr prompt "Haunt Me" with Nana and Toshinori, and set immediately after Toshinori's first fight against All for One. I really wanted to play with little symbolism-y things and with descriptions, because those are things I don't usually play around with like this and it was fun.**

 **This is inspired by some super gorgeous art of Nana and Toshinori by toastyhat on tumblr, here's the link (replace * with .):**

 **blacknovelist55*tumblr*com/** **post/149724238175/toastyhat-pieta-disclaimer-so-shes-deadand**

 **I'm still taking these prompts by the way! Feel free to drop by and leave me one. Also, warnings for descriptions of serious injury and blood.**

* * *

 _"I won't die here! Even if my body gives out… No, regardless of that, I'll live on and continue to smile! For the sake of our world, for the people that live in it…. that's what I learned from my teacher. And I will pass that on, no matter what."_

 _"Then I cannot wait to see how well those ideals of yours can stand the test of time."_

 _….._

 _…_

 _.._

 _"Toshinori."_

The man (boy? Teen? He'd been so young the last she saw him) stirred at the voice, dull blue eyes fluttering. A cool hand brushed through his hair like a breeze, pushing what knots and dirt it could out. "Toshinori," she repeated, and this time his eyes managed to meet hers when they opened.

"…sensei…?" His breath rattled, the whisper barely audible in the back of his throat. A cough tore through him followed by another and she reacted immediately, one hand tilting his head to the side and the other pinning his chest, keeping him from convulsing when they refused to subside. Tears streamed as each jerk brought with it a searing flash of pain, his body working against him with every drop of blood that spilled from his mouth and welled up again.

She knelt with him for who knew how long, the breaks between each fit filled with her quiet urgings to just breathe. Through the burn in his torso he did, choking down mouthfuls of air each time, but it was still a lifetime before his wheezes died down into low rattling breaths. His eyes focused on her figure again before they flickered, and she sighed.

"Stay with me, Toshinori," she said, a distant fwump of air drawing her attention out over the rubble that obscured them from view. "Gran-Gran's gonna be here soon, can't you hear? So come on, my silly student, I want you to keep your eyes on me."

At first there was nothing but the far-away clamor of rescue heroes and workers making their way through the wreckage. Then, his eyelids twitched, slick red fingers shifting as his head lolled towards her slightly. It wasn't quite eye contact, but for now it was good enough.

"That's it. Just stay with me."

He seemed to sigh at that, unfocused blue peering at her through slits. "Need a distraction, huh?" She asked. "You've never been good at sitting down without anything to do for long. I don't think I ever told you about the time Gran got lost back when we were in high school, did I…?"

* * *

She stayed with him as the minutes ticked on, voice just loud enough for him to hear every word but quiet enough to wonder if she was really with him. His head seemed to rest in her lap, and occasionally her tiny stories were interrupted by the call of his name, or a tap to his face. He responded each time with the tap of a finger or the barely-there blink of his eyes, and eventually she'd go back to her storytelling, heart a little lighter than a moment before.

The most recent tale drifted off into silence once more, but rather than speak up her gaze went this time to the crude hole in her student's torso. It was all but an uneven rip, crimson slipping from it and intermingling with blood from his other injuries and the dirt below them. Her hand ghosted over it, all but touching the gristly wound - though it was small enough for her to cover completely, she hesitated.

"….ssnnn…."

Her eyes shot to Toshinori's face at the sound, surprised to see him staring at her with more lucidity than he'd had for who knew how long. "…sensei…." he breathed. "…'m…sorr….sorry, sensei." His lips tried quirked upward for a second before falling again, and she couldn't hold back an exasperated sigh.

"What in the world are you apologizing for, silly student of mine?" She scolded. "If it's about this…" Her hand brushed over it. Toshinori didn't flinch. "…don't bother. It looks nasty, but you'll live. Isn't that what you told him earlier? That you'd live to pass on that power of yours?"

He only stared at her, eyes half-lidded. "You cannot die here yet, Toshinori, and you will not die here." She intoned with all the authority she could muster. The sound of air cracking reached her as though it had gone off next to her ears, and only her familiarity with it prevented her from flinching at the noise. "See?" She glanced up before smiling down at her student softly. "I couldn't be prouder of what you've done if I tried, and I've watched over you for long enough. It's time for you to find your own spark to pass along, so you can watch over it and see it grow like I have." Her hand brushed through his hair again even as his moment of awareness faded away, but no bits of dust followed her fingers as they carded through it. "You can take care of yourself. And, failing that, you still have Gran Torino. You'll be just fine."

A young hero, face unfamiliar to her, launched over the rubble and landed in the small alcove Toshinori rested in, and she moved away as they darted over to his prone form, shouting out over the concrete slabs. Paramedics and rescue heroes dropped over the edges, instructing others where to move the debris and directing the helicopter that hovered over them.

She looked down again, watching as her old friend darted over to the center of the commotion. He seemed to glance around, eyes locking on her for a moment before turning away, and Nana smiled.

"You'll be just fine."

* * *

Gran Torino sighed, one hand on his hip as he watched the medics finally, _finally_ carry Toshinori away. Moving towards a spot free from bustling people he watched the others work, mind still rattling from using his quirk so frequently in a short window of time. Though it had taken them nearly ten minutes to find him, his condition had seemed almost strangely stable despite the injuries he'd been discovered with. He thought of the figure he'd glimpsed between the crowd for a moment earlier, watching them.

Impulsively Torino lifted his fist and held it out, waiting. At first there was nothing, but then he felt it, a brush of knuckles against his, barely there but recognizable nonetheless, and followed by the whisper of the wind in his ears.

 _"Thanks for looking after him, Gran-Gran."_

He grinned.

"Any time, Shimura, any time."


End file.
